Florence Richler, wife and editor of Mordecai Richler, dead at 90Back to video

Richler had lived in Toronto since 2009.

“She was the most wonderful, warm person you could ever imagine,” Aylen said. “She was unbelievably bright and well-read and well-informed. She had a wonderful sense of humour. She was generous in spirit and with all her friends.”

Mordecai Richler, an internationally acclaimed author who penned such classics as The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz and Barney’s Version, called her his “editor in residence.”

“She was his first reader and his early editor throughout his career,” Aylen said. “She really was a remarkable literary person in her own right. She’s largely credited beyond the family of being a very, very good editor. He trusted her foremost.”

Advertisement

Story continues below

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content continued

Aylen described her as a “wonderful complement to Mordecai — (his) public persona was to be a fairly irascible and hard-to-get-close-to person, whereas Florence’s persona was very open, very warm, very accepting of people.”

But, he added, “they were kindred spirits in any number of ways” and they were deeply in love.

“Mordecai couldn’t wait to get home to Florence. If we were out for happy-hour drinks, he would call her two or three times to let her know that he was coming home and bringing home Chinese food or whatever.

“He adored her and she adored him. And it was clear in the way they looked at each other and interacted with each other.”

Advertisement

Story continues below

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content continued

The couple met in the in 1950s in London, where she was an actress and model.

We deeply mourn the passing of Florence Richler, a dear friend, beautiful soul and unwavering supporter of Griffin poetry events from the prize's inception. We will miss her warm and graceful presence. https://t.co/678m5DvP5Spic.twitter.com/k9UAvPYMxx

Advertisement

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content continued

Noah Richler, one of their sons, wrote about his parents in a 2017 article in The Walrus magazine.

“My mother, an adopted child who’d grown up in Pointe-St-Charles, one of the poorer parts of the city, would tell us how she used to pass the imposing (Le Château apartment building on Sherbrooke St.), with its copper roof and faux turrets, and dream of living there one day,” he wrote.

“The idea seemed absurd to her then, but later, when she was working as a model for Eaton’s and Chatelaine in Toronto and Coco Chanel and the House of Dior in Paris, the world started opening up to her wonderfully.

“It was in London in 1954, the day before his wedding to Cathy Boudreau, that she met the somewhat terse, occasionally pretentious but brooding and impressive man who was my father. She was apartment-hunting with the playwright Ted Allan, a lifetime friend, and was married to my brother Daniel’s father, Stanley Mann; my father had moved to London after sojourns in Ibiza, the south of France, and then Paris. Six years later, she married him.”

Advertisement

Story continues below

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content continued

The Richlers returned to Montreal in the early 1970s. The couple would eventually move into Le Château.

Mordecai Richler, who died in 2001 at age 70, is buried in Mount Royal Cemetery. The gravestone features an engraving of a stack of books and the names of Mordecai and Florence Richler.

There’s also an inscription that Richler requested in his will: “… so that eventually we may lie beside each other in death, as we lay so happily in life.”

Florence Richler is survived by five children and six grandchildren.

A funeral service is to be held on Jan. 15 at 10:30 a.m. at The Cathedral Church of St. James, 106 King St. E. in Toronto.

Share this article in your social network

Trending

Related Stories

This Week in Flyers

Article Comments

Comments

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. We ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. We have enabled email notifications—you will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.

Notice for the Postmedia Network

This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.